Obituary of Mr. Raymundo Cifra Isla
On the morning of Saturday, October 7th, 2023, our beloved father Raymundo Cifra Isla, 92 years of age and a resident of Highland Creek, Ontario, was reunited with his loving wife, Marcelina Isla, in eternal rest. His passing took place at Centenary Hospital at 8:15 am with his daughter Racquel by his side.
Mundo, as he was called by his many friends, was born on June 7th, 1931, in Pasay City, then part of the province of Rizal in the Philippines. At his passing, he was the last surviving child of 9 siblings of Crisfino Isla and Clara Cifra. His early life was tumultuous as his family was forced to flee to the mountains of Silang to escape from the Japanese invasion during World War 2. Sadly, he lost two older brothers to the war who fought as soldiers. Their bodies were never recovered. Near the end of the war, he contracted Malaria and was close to death himself but was rescued by the American army and sent to The Manila Sanitarium. Life was difficult in Manila during the post war years. His own father died while he was a still a child and Mundo had to leave school and work to help his mother support their family. Mundo worked hard and moved himself up in the world. He was able to buy a horse and collected reeds and grasses in Makati when it was still mostly swamp to sell as feed for animals to farmers. As a young man, he and his friends hired buses and organized excursions to Antipolo. He later became an employee in a pencil factory where he rose to foreman. Needing more income to support his own family, he and our mother opened their own restaurant in Las Pinas on Zapote. In 1970, Mundo and Celing moved with their three small children to Canada to start a new life. He attended ESL classes at Danforth Technical High School to learn to speak English and practiced it constantly at home with his family. He worked at St. Michael’s Hospital for 26 years where he retired as a respiratory technologist. He was renowned for his ability to fix anything. Despite not even having a high school education, he was also an inventor. He designed the Isla-Trudell Adaptor that regulated the various gases used during surgery. Decades after he retired, our father returned to St. Mike’s to get heart surgery. So many of his own colleagues visited him that his cardiologist couldn’t get through the throngs of well-wishers to see his patient. He remarked that he didn’t know he had a “rockstar” as a patient. Such was Mundo’s popularity amongst his friends and colleagues.
An avid sports fan, he followed his Raptors and Jays til his last days. He also loved visiting and playing in the different casinos with his friends. If there was a community event that needed supporting, he was sure to be in attendance. But mostly he devoted himself to his family.
He is survived by his children Roland (Gloria) Isla, Roque (Verna Veloira) Isla, Rowena (Gary Khani) Isla and Racquel (Ricardo) Lavina, and his grandchildren Jade, Jasmine, Denise, Xavier, Evan and Joshua. More than anything, we’ll remember our beloved father as a sincere man who didn’t need to speak much to be understood. Whenever he did speak, it was always with kindness and understanding. But his actions had their own simple sincerity. He was a man of action more than words. A man who worked hard his entire life. He’s earned his rest. He’s earned his sleep.
Services will be held at Ogden Funeral Homes at 4164 Sheppard Avenue East in Scarborough on Friday, October 13 starting at 9:30 am for the viewing. Spiritual services follow at 10:30. Burial will follow at Pine Hills Cemetery, 625 Birchmount Road.
